The United States has blacklisted six Chinese entities for dealings with Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL) in the latest sanctions against Iran.
The six companies include Reach Holding Group (Shanghai), Reach Shipping Lines, Delight Shipping, Gracious Shipping, Noble Shipping and Supreme Shipping.
Two individuals – Eric Chen, CEO of Reach Holding Group and Daniel He, president of Reach Holding Group – have also been place on the blacklist.
Shanghai-based NVOCC Reach Group set up a joint venture with IRISL in 2017 to facilitate trade and logistics services between China and Iran. The joint venture, Reach Shipping Line, used to own four 14,508 teu ships, Canreach, Goodreach, Tenreach and Fanreach. These ships have since been sold. According to VesselsValue data, one of the ships was sold to an affiliate of IRISL, while the buyers of the other three vessels were not disclosed.
In September, the US blacklisted 11 companies for facilitating Iranian petrochemical shipments.